Blacks lag behind whites, other minorities in business ownership, but the gap is starting to close

Entrepreneurs met with JumpStart Inc. staff at a networking event last October in Cleveland.

The Wall Street Journalreports that blacks “lag far behind whites and other minorities in business ownership,” although there are signs the gap “has started to narrow since the recession.”

Cleveland is a bit below average in minority business ownership.

Black-owned firms accounted for just 2.1% of the nation’s companies with at least one employee in 2014, The Journal said, based on data from the first installment of a new annual survey by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Minorities and women “continue to account for a disproportionately low share of business owners, but the demographics are beginning to shift,” according to The Journal.

For instance, blacks, who account for 12% of the adult U.S. population, were owners of 3.3% of the businesses less than two years old — a significantly better rate than the 2.1% rate for firms of all ages.

The Journal notes that the new report is based on a sample of about 290,000 employer businesses, and its data isn’t comparable to previous government studies because of differences in methodology.

The story includes an interactive graphic with data on the top 50 U.S. cities.

In Cleveland, where 35,286 businesses were measured, black-owned firms comprised 2% of the total companies, while Hispanic-owned firms were 1%. The black and Hispanic populations in the Cleveland area are 19.7% and 5.3%, respectively, or the total population.

Blacks owned less than 10% of businesses in each of the top 50 metro areas.

Another note of concern locally from the survey: Roughly 9% of businesses nationwide have been operating for less than two years as of 2014. Among the nation’s 50 largest metro areas, “Las Vegas had the largest share of young firms, while Cleveland and Milwaukee had the lowest,” the newspaper reports.

Women owned 20% of the 5.2 million companies for which demographic information was available, but 24% of young firms, according to the story.

Follow the money

Outside groups are pouring money into Senate races in a big way, with Ohio leading the way.

The Washington Post says outside groups have spent roughly $95.5 million through Aug. 30 on five Senate races: Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. And the number could be higher.

From the story:

The nearly $100 million price tag is according to groups who report any ad buys or other activities such as direct mail explicitly supporting or opposing the election of a candidate. Nonprofits like the ones associated with the Koch network which run issue based ads are not required to disclose with the FEC. Such non-profits do not need to disclose their donors and are rising in influence in the 2016 elections.

A new analysis released Wednesday by the Brennan Center estimated that “shadow party” groups with close ties to Senate leaders have spent $47 million so far this cycle on Senate elections. These groups also are not required to reveal their donors.

In Ohio, the Post notes, “outside groups have spent $39.8 million,” with $24.4 million of that invested in backing Sen. Rob Portman’s re-election bid against former Gov. Ted Strickland.

Portman is up in all polls so far. He “has benefited from significant ad support from groups like Freedom Partners Action Fund, Fighting for Ohio Fund and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce,” The Post says.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce senior vice president and national political director Rob Engstrom tells the paper that the group has been dedicated to defending Portman since last July.

“The clock is now ticking in the fourth quarter,” Engstrom said. “Candidates who support defending American free enterprise will find no greater friend. Now is the time to close, ground game matters.”

King cone

MCKINLEY WILEY

Mitchell's Ice Cream has a shop and production facility on West 25th Street in Cleveland.

The calendar says September now, which means it seems like fall, even if it technically isn’t. To mark the end of summer, Bloomberg had a little fun highlighting the best ice cream moments of 2016 so far, and Cleveland’s excellent Mitchell’s Ice Cream made the cut.

Here’s the scoop (sorry!):

In Cleveland, Mitchell’s create(d) a Donald Trump-themed ice cream in honor of the visiting Republican National Convention; the You’re Fired sorbet is made with passion fruit and jalapeños. Mitchell's also introduce(d) Elephant Tracks (above), explaining that the chocolate peanut butter ice cream with Spanish peanuts has big tent appeal, and the Gipper Sundae, which is vanilla ice cream with a side of jelly beans. For a crowd, the Primary Ballot (was) a mix of 16 scoops of ice creams, chosen from a ballot-style menu.

Bloomberg promises an update later in the year, “because ice cream season isn't over, even if summer almost is.”